I tend to avoid talking politics with my parents (mostly because they watch CNN and MSNBC all of the time), but in rare instances where war comes up, I ask them, "what if they reinstate the draft?" Their immediate response is, "that will never happen" and that is the end of the conversation. I sometimes think they say that because they don't want to even entertain the idea of the possible outcomes of a draft for their children, though perhaps they genuinely believe that the draft would never be reinstated because of potentially how unpopular it would be. I have seen similar strong opinions on this board about the impossibility of a draft in the United States, and I have to wonder why you are all so certain about it?
Time and again we have seen decisions by the government being made that defy logic, especially politically, only for the average citizen to look on in complete apathy at best, and sheer joy at worst. Years of the Syrian Civil War being plastered everywhere with criticisms of US inaction have made the left more hungry for war. The Ukraine War has seen leftist individuals (even the trannies who you would expect to whine and moan about doing anything) actually travel to Ukraine and participate in fighting. The propaganda is powerful, and the apathy towards resisting is even stronger.
I think you would have to be foolish to not even entertain the idea of the Establishment reinstating the draft. It doesn't matter if the logistics would be impossible as that has rarely stopped the government before. As far as I see it, the Silent Generation and the Boomers are not satisfied with merely passing away quietly, they want to go out in a blaze of glory, consequences for their children, and the human race as a whole, be damned.
I could put forward many arguments...
But "but covid" shoots holes in most of them.
Fuck.
I get that what you’re going for is “people will comply,” and maybe that’s true, but the incentives are completely different. With covid, they could lie that it made you safer. They could appeal to people who could work remotely; for them, the restrictions had a real upside in getting to avoid commuting. They could appeal to the lazy and/or unethical—“sure, just sit around doing nothing. We’ll give you stimulus checks occasionally and make it illegal for your landlord to evict you, so don’t worry about rent.”
There is no way to convince anyone that being drafted and sent to war does not drastically increase their discomfort and place them in danger. None. You may be able to minimize the perceived danger, but not even the dumbest NPC will think “I will be safer and be able to enjoy the guilty pleasures of being a slob if I am drafted into an active wartime military.” With the covid restrictions and the covid shots, you could sell lots of perceived upside. With a draft, there is none.
I mean, muh Global Democracy, muh weapons of mass destruction. They can spin anything, and sadly a lot of people will still buy it.
I mean, as appealing as it is to believe it's that simple, I think even the people who directly benefitted, still actually bought into the hype. They were concerned that we were Killing Grandma. They were concerned about Stopping the Spread. It wasn't just a matter of convenience.
Alright. But here's the question. Does the potential discomfort outweigh their obedience toward the state? Perhaps more importantly, their obedience toward The Narrative? Russia is, after all, Bad. Ukraine, it's Good. As an example.
Yes, plenty of the people would be pissed off, plenty of them would seek and likely be granted exemptions - both left and right - but it would be a non-zero and in fact significant number - again, both left and right - who would let themselves get drafted.
But, again, will the dumbest NPC think "It's more important to buck the trend, break with the narrative, than it is to obey the state and the narrative?" NPCs are NPCs. Plenty will go along.
I contend that "but Covid" isn't quite as powerful as it first appears. It's one thing to say that people laid down and let the Government take things from them and made them stay home, but that was in service to "saving lives" and didn't put anyone in immediate danger. Their comforts were not as negatively impacted as they could have been. Recall also that many people still went outside anyway to enjoy fiery but mostly peaceful protesting to let off some steam.
When the G-man arrives at you door with your Draft Card, it essentially means death. It means boot camp, shipping out, leaving all your friends and family behind and losing what little control over your life that you thought you still had. Covid responses kept many locked inside their own homes, but at least it was home, not Desertstan. Military work drops that entirely. You're not a human being anymore, you're a Government employee who will be jailed for many years if you slack off or try to quit.
I think the more accurate comparison would be a "draft" for working during Covid, where you were actually in danger of contracting the disease, failing a PCR test at work, and being trapped in a hospital for an indeterminate period of time, or maybe until you just died from poor treatment and conditions. Being able to avoid such a fate would be preferred and, ignoring how non-lethal Covid actually was, would mimic the fear someone would have for a draft to war much better. I don't think 'people rolled over to let their rights be taken away' fits as well. War scares people, but forced vacation doesn't.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctPViK3LK-o
I differentiate between "stay home" and "take this mystery injection." I also will not be convinced that isn't the Big G Himself smiting that vain woman in particular.
Most of the people complying with the mask and vaxx were city women and soyboys, or the paranoid elderly. The draft would be for men age 18-35, and I wonder how many of them actually complied, especially in more rural areas.
CoViD : "Stay at home and we pay you, or you might die ( from a cold )"
Conscription : "Die for ZOG."
Yeah no.